Stealth Layoff Tracker (COVID-19 2020) Forum

[Anonymous User]

Reed Smith has quietly and abruptly laid off some associates in several US offices.

I'm an incoming SA at Reed Smith. Do you know if particular practice groups were singled out for the layoffs?

[Anonymous User]

Goodwin Procter (V37) according to another thread.

More details?

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... &start=175

This is all anyone knows rn. I, too, would like more details. Hopefully a GP associate can chime in.

They've already laid off 50 supporting staff according to ATL.

Finally coverage from ATL on Goodwin's stealthing. Seems like it's quite widespread office and seniority-wise. Less clear on what practice groups other than corporate have been hit.

https://abovethelaw.com/2020/05/goodwin ... h-layoffs/

[Anonymous User]

Goodwin Procter (V37) according to another thread.

More details?

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... &start=175

This is all anyone knows rn. I, too, would like more details. Hopefully a GP associate can chime in.

They've already laid off 50 supporting staff according to ATL.

Finally coverage from ATL on Goodwin's stealthing. Seems like it's quite widespread office and seniority-wise. Less clear on what practice groups other than corporate have been hit.

https://abovethelaw.com/2020/05/goodwin ... h-layoffs/

Incoming SA here. Should we take comfort in the line "there are no further plans to let associates go or cut salaries?" To my naive self this could cut either way, but it seems more likely that this is about as meaningful as "guaranteed offer." Sorry I'm new to all this Biglaw stuff.

[jrose55]

Goodwin Procter (V37) according to another thread.

More details?

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... &start=175

This is all anyone knows rn. I, too, would like more details. Hopefully a GP associate can chime in.

They've already laid off 50 supporting staff according to ATL.

Finally coverage from ATL on Goodwin's stealthing. Seems like it's quite widespread office and seniority-wise. Less clear on what practice groups other than corporate have been hit.

https://abovethelaw.com/2020/05/goodwin ... h-layoffs/

Incoming SA here. Should we take comfort in the line "there are no further plans to let associates go or cut salaries?" To my naive self this could cut either way, but it seems more likely that this is about as meaningful as "guaranteed offer." Sorry I'm new to all this Biglaw stuff.

I don't want to freak you out - and I don't work for Goodwin - but no, you should not take comfort in the line. At least 1 law firm said they wouldn't cut salaries but did just that a couple weeks later. https://abovethelaw.com/2020/04/the-cov ... o-survive/
We're in a Brave New World now. No one really knows what's going to happen, and big firms like Goodwin are trying to do damage control as stealthed associates are running to Above the Law.

[Anonymous User]

Reed Smith has quietly and abruptly laid off some associates in several US offices.

I'm an incoming SA at Reed Smith. Do you know if particular practice groups were singled out for the layoffs?

Between this and the SA program cut, should we be concerned about not getting return offers?

[Anonymous User]

Reed Smith has quietly and abruptly laid off some associates in several US offices.

I'm an incoming SA at Reed Smith. Do you know if particular practice groups were singled out for the layoffs?

Between this and the SA program cut, should we be concerned about not getting return offers?

The cut to the summer program (five weeks vs ten weeks) seems to be in line with other firms. But I am interested in knowing how many associates were let go and what practice groups were affected.

[Wild Card]

There's no point in speculating, but now you know that biglaw firms can fuck you over whenever and however they want. No matter how able and likeable you may be, they will tell you you lack basic skills and are not a good fit for the firm.

[Anonymous User]

Anon for obvious reasons.

Heard from a couple of folks who work there that Baker Botts is stealth-ing associates.

[Anonymous User]

Any news regarding Seward & Kissel?

[Anonymous User]

Anon for obvious reasons.

Heard from a couple of folks who work there that Baker Botts is stealth-ing associates.

Any particular groups/offices?

[Anonymous User]

Reed Smith has quietly and abruptly laid off some associates in several US offices.

I'm an incoming SA at Reed Smith. Do you know if particular practice groups were singled out for the layoffs?

Between this and the SA program cut, should we be concerned about not getting return offers?

Not to freak you out but yes. Last time, the firm no offered a bunch of summers. We did have much bigger class sizes back then and weren’t as prepared for the crash.

But still, the firm really protects partners. It had to pay a lot for lateral partners to come in and bring business. And the firm does not care about its prestige. When you add that together, they make decisions based on protecting partner comp and not rewarding associates. They do have nice fringe programs like diversity and such, but those are a drop in the bucket to doing things like raising comp to where it should be.

With that said, you should expect to work your ass off this summer. Especially if you’re in the Pittsburgh office. I’m talking like 10-12 hours a day. This will not be a vacation.

And you will only have five weeks to prove yourself. Best of luck.

[Anonymous User]

I'm an incoming first year at RS. Any info on how many layoffs and what offices/practice groups? Anything would be appreciated

[gasfard]

Anon for obvious reasons.

Heard from a couple of folks who work there that Baker Botts is stealth-ing associates.

Would like more details on this

[Anonymous User]

Reed Smith has quietly and abruptly laid off some associates in several US offices.

I'm an incoming SA at Reed Smith. Do you know if particular practice groups were singled out for the layoffs?

Between this and the SA program cut, should we be concerned about not getting return offers?

The cut to the summer program (five weeks vs ten weeks) seems to be in line with other firms. But I am interested in knowing how many associates were let go and what practice groups were affected.

Allegedly, the layoffs were for performance issues from before COVID hit, although I'm skeptical. It seems several of the associates were in real estate. If I were an incoming SA, I would be cautious but not overly concerned yet. As someone else said, don't expect too much loyalty from biglaw.

[Anonymous User]

Reed Smith has quietly and abruptly laid off some associates in several US offices.

I'm an incoming SA at Reed Smith. Do you know if particular practice groups were singled out for the layoffs?

Between this and the SA program cut, should we be concerned about not getting return offers?

The cut to the summer program (five weeks vs ten weeks) seems to be in line with other firms. But I am interested in knowing how many associates were let go and what practice groups were affected.

Allegedly, the layoffs were for performance issues from before COVID hit, although I'm skeptical. It seems several of the associates were in real estate. If I were an incoming SA, I would be cautious but not overly concerned yet. As someone else said, don't expect too much loyalty from biglaw.

I'm an RE associate in a major non-NY market. Work is definitely slower than before, but still been fairly keeping up. However, it's hard to imagine all of RE not being hit pretty hard for the foreseeable future. A lot of firms were recruiting for lateral RE associates in the last year, so I wouldn't be surprised to see RE associates be hit a bit hard.

[Anonymous User]

Anon for obvious reasons.

Heard from a couple of folks who work there that Baker Botts is stealth-ing associates.

Would like more details on this

Bumping

[Anonymous User]

Any of the other stealthed Goodwin associates having any luck on the job hunt? Things seem pretty bleak out there and no prospects at the moment.

[sparty99]

Any of the other stealthed Goodwin associates having any luck on the job hunt? Things seem pretty bleak out there and no prospects at the moment.

Big law hiring is dead. Enjoy your severance and live off the state/government unemployment. Consider a pivot to the government as law firm hiring is weak.

[Anonymous User]

Reed Smith has quietly and abruptly laid off some associates in several US offices.

I'm an incoming SA at Reed Smith. Do you know if particular practice groups were singled out for the layoffs?

Between this and the SA program cut, should we be concerned about not getting return offers?

Not to freak you out but yes. Last time, the firm no offered a bunch of summers. We did have much bigger class sizes back then and weren’t as prepared for the crash.

But still, the firm really protects partners. It had to pay a lot for lateral partners to come in and bring business. And the firm does not care about its prestige. When you add that together, they make decisions based on protecting partner comp and not rewarding associates. They do have nice fringe programs like diversity and such, but those are a drop in the bucket to doing things like raising comp to where it should be.

With that said, you should expect to work your ass off this summer. Especially if you’re in the Pittsburgh office. I’m talking like 10-12 hours a day. This will not be a vacation.

And you will only have five weeks to prove yourself. Best of luck.

How does Reed Smith have enough work to force digital summer associates to work 10-12 hour days? And what would be the point of doing that? I know their comp is a bit below market and the no-offer risk is real but that doesn't really make sense.

[Wild Card]

How does Reed Smith have enough work to force digital summer associates to work 10-12 hour days? And what would be the point of doing that? I know their comp is a bit below market and the no-offer risk is real but that doesn't really make sense.

I think it's an exaggeration. The idea is that you should do as much as you can -- show all your boomer partners your best [virtual] shiteating grin.

[jacketyellow]

How does Reed Smith have enough work to force digital summer associates to work 10-12 hour days? And what would be the point of doing that? I know their comp is a bit below market and the no-offer risk is real but that doesn't really make sense.

I think it's an exaggeration. The idea is that you should do as much as you can -- show all your boomer partners your best [virtual] shiteating grin.

I can attest that one needs to work hard at Reed Smith during an SA. My friend was a 1L SA at Reed Smith during better times in 2015 and was still no-offered. Reed Smith doesn't care about prestige or keeping their numbers up for publications or Vault. It WILL no-offer you, and this summer is no different. This is a serious recession, so SAs there need to work their asses off.

[Anonymous User]

Goodwin Procter (V37) according to another thread.

More details?

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... &start=175

This is all anyone knows rn. I, too, would like more details. Hopefully a GP associate can chime in.

GP associate who got stealthed checking in. Happy to answer any questions about my experience so long as I can remain anonymous (for obvious reasons).

Is it really as bad as people are saying? There hasn’t been anything on ATL and I assumed someone would’ve said something by now.

Personally, I don't feel comfortable leaking to ATL. I am assuming they would require me to verify my identity in some way and that's a non-starter for me (even if they promise to keep my identity a secret). I do feel strongly about getting my experience out there (be it on message boards or otherwise) - so long as I can do it anonymously.

As I understand it, they won't "verify" anything. Just give them a throwaway email--it's better that they have the info so they can compile and have something to reference when they ask firm management what's going on. If they for whatever reason *did* ask you to verify your identity, you could always refuse anything that might out you.

I've reported to ATL before. They don't require verification.

[Excellent117]

Any of the other stealthed Goodwin associates having any luck on the job hunt? Things seem pretty bleak out there and no prospects at the moment.

Big law hiring is dead. Enjoy your severance and live off the state/government unemployment. Consider a pivot to the government as law firm hiring is weak.

It's unlikely that government hiring will be appreciably better. There's very little tax revenue coming in at any level right now. If we're entering a prolonged recession or even depression, that's likely to be the case for the indefinite future.

[sparty99]

Any of the other stealthed Goodwin associates having any luck on the job hunt? Things seem pretty bleak out there and no prospects at the moment.

Big law hiring is dead. Enjoy your severance and live off the state/government unemployment. Consider a pivot to the government as law firm hiring is weak.

It's unlikely that government hiring will be appreciably better. There's very little tax revenue coming in at any level right now. If we're entering a prolonged recession or even depression, that's likely to be the case for the indefinite future.

I have seen a plethora of government jobs.

[Anonymous User]

Any of the other stealthed Goodwin associates having any luck on the job hunt? Things seem pretty bleak out there and no prospects at the moment.

Big law hiring is dead. Enjoy your severance and live off the state/government unemployment. Consider a pivot to the government as law firm hiring is weak.

It's unlikely that government hiring will be appreciably better. There's very little tax revenue coming in at any level right now. If we're entering a prolonged recession or even depression, that's likely to be the case for the indefinite future.

I have seen a plethora of government jobs.

I think it depends. State and local govts are probably hurting right now especially if they don't get help from the Federal gov't. But I would definitely focus on fed agencies, particularly those that got a lot of money. My old sub-agency received a lot of funding and they're hiring dozens if not hundreds of people in DC and across the country including attorneys.